Cytomegaloviruses in a Community of Wild Nonhuman Primates in Taï National Park, Côte D'Ivoire.

Augustin Anoh,Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann,Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer,Chantal Akoua-Koffi,Bernhard Ehlers,Fabian Leendertz,Sripriya Murthy

doi:10.3390/v10010011

Abstract

Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are known to infect many mammals, including a number of nonhuman primates (NHPs). However, most data available arose from studies led on captive individuals and little is known about CMV diversity in wild NHPs. Here, we analyzed a community of wild nonhuman primates (seven species) in Taï National Park (TNP), Côte d’Ivoire, with two PCR systems targeting betaherpesviruses. CMV DNA was detected in 17/87 primates (4/7 species). Six novel CMVs were identified in sooty mangabeys, Campbell’s monkeys and Diana monkeys, respectively. In 3/17 positive individuals (from three NHP species), different CMVs were co-detected. A major part of the glycoprotein B coding sequences of the novel viruses was amplified and sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were performed that included three previously discovered CMVs of western red colobus from TNP and published CMVs from other NHP species and geographic locations. We find that, despite this locally intensified sampling, NHP CMVs from TNP are completely host-specific, pinpointing the absence or rarity of cross-species transmission. We also show that on longer timescales the evolution of CMVs is characterized by frequent co-divergence with their hosts, although other processes, including lineage duplication and host switching, also have to be invoked to fully explain their evolutionary relationships.

Highlights

Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs; family Herpesviridae; genus Betaherpesvirinae) are viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome of >200 kbp
Necropsy and blood samples were collected over a period of more than 10 years from deceased or live individuals of 8 nonhuman primates (NHPs) species; all necropsies were performed on carcasses detected opportunistically, i.e., no primate was culled for this project
The detection of CMV DNA was confirmed in 17/87 NHPs: 7/37 Cercocebus atys, 1/4 Cercopithecus campbelli (Campbell’s monkey), 1/8 Cercopithecus diana (Diana monkey) and 9/18 Pan troglodytes verus (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs; family Herpesviridae; genus Betaherpesvirinae) are viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome of >200 kbp. NHP CMVs have been detected by PCR and serology or isolated in cell culture mostly from captive individuals, i.e., hominines, including chimpanzees and orangutans [9,10] and Old World monkey species, e.g., rhesus macaques [11], cynomolgus macaques [12], Formosan rock macaques [13], African green monkeys [14], drills [15], and baboons [16]. CMVs have been identified in wild NHPs, i.e., chimpanzees, gorillas and two species of colobus monkeys [10,17,18]

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Results

Conclusion